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David Jack Holt is a Actor American born on 14 august 1927 at Jacksonville (USA)

David Jack Holt

David Jack Holt
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Nationality USA
Birth 14 august 1927 at Jacksonville (USA)
Death 15 november 2003 (at 76 years) at San Juan Capistrano (USA)

David Jack Holt (mostly known as David Holt; August 14, 1927 – November 15, 2003) was an American actor initially groomed at the age of seven to be the male Shirley Temple. After being let down by Will Rogers, stress, polio, and resentment from his father precipitated his downfall, which culminated in being reduced to starring in the cheap drugs-scare melodrama "She Shoulda Said 'No'!", at the age of 22. By the time he was 25, no acting parts were available for him and he eventually turned to songwriting, where he had some moderate success before his death in 2003 at the age of 76.

Biography

Holt was born on August 14, 1927 in Jacksonville, Florida. Four years later, his sister Betty was born, who also became an actor. At a young age, Holt's dancing skills so impressed the actor and wit Will Rogers that Rogers purportedly told Holt's mother that if ever they were in Hollywood they should contact him and he would get young David into pictures. Relying on this understanding, Holt's father promptly quit his job with Ford Motors. Intent on holding Rogers to his promise, the Holt family drove to California. Despite their best efforts, Rogers refused even to see them.

With no income, Holt's father worked as a casual laborer. Holt's mother took Holt to auditions, sometimes sharing transport with Shirley Temple and her mother. Initially, Holt found it difficult to get acting jobs. He did, however, get a job as "body double" for Cheeta's chimpanzee predecessor in the 1933 film Tarzan the Fearless and had a small role in the 1933 Our Gang (Little Rascals) comedy Forgotten Babies.



At age seven, in 1934, Holt got his acting break in the movie You Belong to Me, a melodrama in which his character's parents dies. He was now a child star, and Paramount Pictures put him under a long-term contract and promoted him as a male version of Shirley Temple. Over the next six years, Holt made 20 films, but did not come close to the superstar status set by his friend, Shirley Temple.

Holt was initially cast in the title role in David Copperfield, alongside W. C. Fields' character, Wilkins Micawber. However, producer David O. Selznick developed misgivings about having an American youngster portray a quintessentially British boy. When English child actor Freddie Bartholomew became available a couple of weeks into shooting, Holt was let go. Holt had a prominent role in the 1936 movie Straight from the Shoulder (also known as Johnny Gets His Gun) alongside noted actor Ralph Bellamy. Holt eventually developed a reputation as a troublemaker, and found himself settling for supporting roles in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1939), Beau Geste (1939), and Courage of Lassie (1946) as Elizabeth Taylor's older brother. Holt may be best remembered as the older Billy in the 1942 critically and publicly acclaimed film, The Pride of the Yankees, where 17-year-old Billy attends Lou Gehrig Day and shows Lou Gehrig that Billy now can walk without a limp, implying that Gehrig's promised World Series home runs many years ago helped a young Billy overcome his childhood illness.

Holt's stress may have been a source of his troublemaking and his restricted success as an actor. Holt made more money than his father, who openly expressed his resentment at making so much less income than his prepubescent son. The production line of movies in which Holt was cast compounded his household stress. Holt and his family's expenses soon exceeded Holt's income and the family eventually had to rely on soup kitchens. At one point Holt had polio, which he believed was a result of the stress he felt in the studios. Amidst all this, Holt's parents separated.

At age 14, Holt largely turned his back on acting in favor of songwriting and poetry. Attempting to return to acting in 1948, he found few parts available, and ended up starring in the 1949 cheap drugs-scare melodrama "She Shoulda Said 'No'!". By the early 1950s, the parts had dried up and Holt returned to song writing.

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Source : Wikidata

Filmography of David Jack Holt (24 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Battleground, 1h58
Directed by William A. Wellman
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Comedy, Action, Adventure
Themes Political films
Actors Van Johnson, John Hodiak, George Murphy, Ricardo Montalbán, James Whitmore, Don Taylor
Rating73% 3.694863.694863.694863.694863.69486
In mid-December 1944 Pvt. Jim Layton (Marshall Thompson) and his buddy Pvt. William J. Hooper are fresh replacements assigned to separate companies in the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. As a newcomer Layton receives a chilly welcome. PFC Holley (Van Johnson) returns to the company after recuperating from a wound.
Wild Weed
Wild Weed (1949)
, 1h10
Directed by Sam Newfield
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about drugs, Documentary films about health care
Actors Alan Baxter, Lyle Talbot, Lila Leeds, David Jack Holt, Donald Patrick Harvey II, Joseph Kenneth Shovlin
Roles Bob Lester
Rating44% 2.229732.229732.229732.229732.22973
Leeds' character is "Anne Lester", a young orphan who is trying to pay for her brother's college education. After meeting Markey, a drug dealer, Anne begins to believe that she must smoke marijuana to fit in with her friends. She then goes to a "tea party", where she tries the drug for the first time. She is unaffected by the initial experiment, and loses her fear of drugs as she continues to smoke.
Courage of Lassie, 1h32
Directed by Fred M. Wilcox
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Adventure
Themes Films about animals, Films about dogs, Children's films, Mise en scène d'un mammifère
Actors Pal, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, Harry Davenport, Selena Royle, Tom Drake
Roles Pete Merrick
Rating61% 3.096113.096113.096113.096113.09611
A collie pup is separated from his mother and grows to young adulthood in the forest. After being swept away in a torrent and then shot by a young hunter, he is found by Kathie Merrick (Elizabeth Taylor) and carried to her home. With the help of a kindly shepherd, Mr. MacBain (Frank Morgan), she tends him back to health, names him Bill, and teaches him to herd sheep.
Hot Cargo
Hot Cargo (1946)
, 57minutes
Directed by Lew Landers
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Adventure, Romance
Actors William Gargan, Jean Rogers, Phillip Reed, Harry Cording, Will Wright, Virginia Brissac
Roles Peter Chapman
Rating52% 2.6233152.6233152.6233152.6233152.623315
Henry Aldrich, Boy Scout, 1h6
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Darryl Hickman, Olive Blakeney, Minor Watson
Roles Irwin Barrett (uncredited)
Rating63% 3.1881753.1881753.1881753.1881753.188175
Destroyer
Destroyer (1943)
, 1h39
Directed by William A. Seiter, Ray Enright
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Adventure
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Political films, United States Armed Forces in films
Actors Edward G. Robinson, Glenn Ford, Marguerite Chapman, Edgar Buchanan, Leo Gorcey, Regis Toomey
Roles Sobbing Sailor
Rating62% 3.1492853.1492853.1492853.1492853.149285
In 1943 retired Navy Chief Bosun's Mate Steve "Boley" Boleslavski (Edward G. Robinson) helps build the destroyer John Paul Jones, the namesake of the ship he served on in World War I, sunk a quarter century later while saving an aircraft carrier from being torpedoed. When he finds out that an old shipmate, Lieutenant Commander Clark (Regis Toomey), is the ship's new captain, he returns to the Navy and wrangles a berth as the ship's leading chief bosun's mate.
The Human Comedy, 1h58
Directed by Clarence Brown
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Political films
Actors Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, James Craig, Marsha Hunt, Fay Bainter, Ray Collins
Roles Hubert Ackley III (uncredited)
Rating69% 3.4942553.4942553.4942553.4942553.494255
Top Man
Top Man (1943)
, 1h14
Directed by Charles Lamont
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical
Themes Musical films
Actors Donald O'Connor, Susanna Foster, Lillian Gish, Richard Dix, Peggy Ryan, Anne Gwynne
Roles Archie Fleming
Rating69% 3.4811053.4811053.4811053.4811053.481105
The Pride of the Yankees, 2h8
Directed by Sam Wood
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Romance
Themes Sports films, Baseball films
Actors Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Walter Brennan, Dan Duryea, Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stössel
Roles Billy (Age 17)
Rating75% 3.7975453.7975453.7975453.7975453.797545
Lou Gehrig (Cooper) is a young Columbia University student whose old-fashioned mother (Elsa Janssen) wants him to study hard and become an engineer. But the young man has a gift for baseball. A sportswriter (Brennan) befriends Gehrig and persuades a scout to come see him play. Before long Gehrig signs with the team he has always revered, the New York Yankees. With the help of his father (Ludwig Stössel), he endeavors to keep his career change a secret from his mother.
Remember the Day, 1h26
Directed by Henry King
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Romance
Themes Films about education, Children's films
Actors Claudette Colbert, John Payne, Shepperd Strudwick, Ann Todd, Ann E. Todd, Ann E. Todd
Roles Pitcher (uncredited)
Rating71% 3.5873753.5873753.5873753.5873753.587375
Elderly schoolteacher Nora Trinell reflects on her life and teaching career while waiting to see Dewey Roberts, formerly her student and currently a Presidential nominee. This film is reminiscent of Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) and Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955).
Beau Geste
Beau Geste (1939)
, 1h52
Directed by William A. Wellman, Richard Talmadge
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure
Themes French war films
Actors Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish
Roles Augustus Brandon (as a Child)
Rating74% 3.744563.744563.744563.744563.74456
The film opens up with a company of French Foreign Legionaries approaching a fort. From a distance it is perceived to be occupied, but upon closer inspection the bodies representing are found to be dead, only mounted for deception. However, a lone shot is fired from inside and two people investigate. One goes missing and the other finds a death note on one of the bodies admitting to the stealing of a valuable sapphire called the "Blue Water".
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1h33
Directed by George Cukor, Norman Taurog, H. C. Potter, William A. Wellman
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Adventure
Themes Films about children
Actors Jackie Moran, Tommy Kelly, May Robson, Ann Gillis, Walter Brennan, Victor Jory
Roles Sid Sawyer
Rating70% 3.541493.541493.541493.541493.54149
The United Artists release includes most of the sequences familiar to readers of the book, including the fence-whitewashing episode; a wild raft ride down the Mississippi River; Tom and Huckleberry Finn's attendance at their own funeral, after the boys, who were enjoying an adventure on a remote island, are presumed dead; the murder trial of local drunkard Muff Potter; and Tom and Becky Thatcher's flight through a cave as they try to escape from Injun Joe, who is revealed to be the real killer.